Competitive Intelligence and Information Technology Adoption of SMEs in Turkey: Diagnosing Current Performance and Identifying Barriers

The need for SMEs to behave in a more concise and coherent competitive fashion is well recognised. This study reports on an empirical study of SMEs in Turkey. Their responses were applied to a behavioural and information technology adoption framework which enabled the identification of areas where changes would be required for these firms to begin operating at a higher level of competence. The findings revealed significant scope for improvements on all strands of the diagnostic framework: attitude, gathering, location, technology support, IT systems support and finally, use of intelligence-based output by decision-makers. Through free form responses, it was also possible to identify barrier to higher level adoption and performance inhibiters, which were subsequently, categorised and assessed for significance.